Issue Guide: What German Vote Means for Europe

Author: Jeanne Park
September 20, 2013

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Germans will head to the polls this weekend in what has been billed the most consequential and, conversely, the "most boring" election of the year. The country's incumbent chancellor Angela Merkel remains the odds-on favorite—despite a tightening race—but the composition of her ruling government remains in doubt given the complexities of the German electoral system. At stake in the outcome is nothing less than Europe's future economic and political sustainability, seeing as the next German government will be charged with guiding the troubled currency union out of crisis and, at the same time, knitting the continent closer together.

A Vote on the Euro

Economist:One Woman to Rule Them AllThis strong endorsement of a Merkel third term calls on the German chancellor to advocate more forcefully for a stronger fiscal union and liberal economic policies both at home and abroad.

New York Review of Books:The New German Question Oxford historian Timothy Garton Ash asks if Europe's most powerful country can lead the way in building both a sustainable, internationally competitive eurozone and a strong, credible European Union.

Foreign Affairs: The Sleepwalking Giant The German public wants a boring leader, and that is what this weekend's election will give them. But Angela Merkel is setting Europe up for very turbulent times, writes Jan-Werner Müller.

Spiegel International: Crisis Could Damage Merkel's Campaign Although Merkel's campaign has encouraged voters to believe that the worst of the euro crisis is behind them, the reality is that Germans will likely be presented with additional bills for saving the embattled currency after the vote, says Der Speigel.

The Greek Factor

New York Times: Why Greece Is Not the Weimar Roger Cohen sounds a sanguine note about Sunday's elections amid the rise of violent extremism in Greece: "Germany has not yet learned to play the benign superpower. It is time; and after the German election this Sunday there may be a little more wiggle room."

Ekathimerini: Greece in the German Election Debate On the eve of this Sunday's elections, Nikos Chrysoloras cautions German voters on the risks of more austerity: "There are limits to how much can you can impose on a democratic society before it implodes into something really ugly."

Carnegie Europe: Merkel's Unfinished Business[PDF] In this comprehensive report, Strategic Europe's Judy Dempsey maps out the foreign policy priorities for the next German government, which include strengthening the transatlantic relationship, addressing the U.S. "pivot" to Asia, and encouraging Europe to develop a credible security policy.

Deutsche-Welle: U.S. Foreign Policy Looms Over the Election One of the biggest tests of Germany's willingness to lead will come as the EU and the United States negotiate the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; the successful conclusion of an agreement would create the world's largest free trade bloc.

Politico: NSA Spying Looms Large in German Election The NSA surveillance scandal has given German parties across the political spectrum ammunition to use against the incumbent Merkel, but it is unlikely to cost the popular chancellor another four years in office, writes Emily Schultheis.

The Globe and Mail: Election in Germany Lacks "Big Issue" Eric Reguly believes that the chancellor's cautious campaign could shrink her lead and force a grand coalition with the opposing Social Democratic Party. In such a scenario, the "austerity programs favored by . . . Merkel 'would no longer be at the top of the agenda,'" he writes.

CFR Issue Primers

Backgrounder: The Eurozone Crisis The eurozone, once seen as a crowning achievement in the decades-long path of European integration, is buffeted by a sovereign debt crisis of nations whose membership in the currency union has been poorly policed.

Backgrounder: Germany's Central Bank Germany's Bundesbank remains an influential actor in eurozone policymaking, and its recent disagreements with the European Central Bank raise concerns about managing the zone's debt crisis.

India now matters to U.S. interests in virtually every dimension. This Independent Task Force report assesses the current situation in India and the U.S.-India relationship, and suggests a new model for partnership with a rising India.

Rates of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in low- and middle-income countries are increasing faster than in wealthier countries. The report outlines a plan for collective action on this growing epidemic.

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